SPORTSBIZ -- KEVIN KLEPS

Time Warner is on the MAC's side in new TV deal

Time Warner Cable's SportsChannel — a 24/7 network that carries regional programming to the company's subscribers — is making a big push in Northeast Ohio.

On Friday, SportsChannel, begins its high school football coverage with three regional opening-night games — Time Warner subscribers in Northeast Ohio will get the Walsh Jesuit-Youngstown Ursuline game at 11 p.m. On Saturday, the Glenville-St. Edward showdown will be broadcasted live statewide at 2 p.m.

What follows high school football in the coming months on SportsChannel, however, is sure to draw reaction from fans of the Mid-American Conference.

The MAC's exclusive partnership with Time Warner — a deal that was announced last week — has some fans of the conference upset about being shut out of the conference's TV programming.

The three-year contract gives Time Warner extensive game and non-game (there will be preseason football and basketball programs, along with “magazine-type” shows) programming.

It also spells the end of the MAC — for at least the time being — on SportsTime Ohio.

“We had a great relationship with STO and had just a marvelous experience with them,” MAC commissioner Dr. Jon A. Steinbrecher said during a teleconference Monday. “When Fox came in and purchased (SportsTime Ohio from the Cleveland Indians late in 2012) and we started to talk about a new deal, there were things that they wanted us to do that we couldn't do; there were things we wanted them to do they couldn't do. It just made it really problematic.”

If you're not a Time Warner Cable subscriber and enjoy the MAC — particularly men's basketball, the sport that is most affected by this deal — you probably still feel the TV situation is problematic.

The MAC's answer to that: Select programming that is shown on Time Warner's SportsChannel — channel 301 and 1301 (HD) on the company's lineup — will be streamed live on the conference's website and will be available via ESPN3 and the Watch ESPN app.

The new partnership doesn't affect any MAC football and basketball games that are shown on ESPN.

Where it gets tricky for non-Time Warner subscribers is the broadcasts that used to be on SportsTime Ohio — the most prominent of which were the MAC men's basketball tournament games (aside from the championship game, which is shown by ESPN) — will only be found on Time Warner and the MAC's website.

Steinbrecher said the new deal allows the MAC to “become an anchor” of Time Warner's increased sports programming.

The commissioner also said the contract will allow the conference to show championship contests from its “Olympic” sports — such as volleyball, softball and men's and women's soccer.

The MAC is also taking steps to make sure every region it encompasses will have a chance to see the extensive TV programming.

“Within the flagship footprint, if there is a community that's not a Time Warner Cable system, they'll work with us and we'll work to get our broadcast or telecast on that local cable network that is there — whether it's Charter, or Cox or Comcast or whatever the case may be,” Steinbrecher said.

The above step isn't necessary here, where Time Warner obviously is well-established.

But it will leave some MAC fans wondering how far they should go to support their favorite conference.

Should they make the switch from the dish or AT&T U-verse? Or should they just fire up their laptops, iPads or smart phones when they want to watch Akron, Ohio or Kent State play hoops?

“As the component parts came together,” Steinbrecher said, “it was the deal that made the most sense.”

More on the MAC-Time Warner partnership

The “ancillary programming” included in Time Warner's deal with the MAC will also feature baseball and women's basketball contests.

Time Warner says it will televise 55 basketball games in 2013-14 — “the most in conference history.”

There will also be coaches' shows, preview shows and a signing day special.

During the 2014-15 school year, Time Warner will add weekly “magazine, studio and long-form shows.”

Outside of Ohio, Time Warner's MAC coverage will extend to central New York, Albany, Hudson Valley, Rochester, Buffalo and New York City.

Time Warner also has partnerships with the Los Angeles Lakers, the L.A. Galaxy of Major League Soccer, the L.A. Sparks of the WNBA, FC Dallas of the MLS and two college athletic departments (Kansas and Syracuse).

You can follow me on Twitter for sports information and analysis, but you should follow Jay Bilas for quality NCAA barbs. (This Bilas tweet on Tuesday morning was priceless: “NCAA reportedly met with Johnny Football for six hours on Sunday. Looking forward to NCAA's ruling in 2017.”)

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